As set out in the above referenced applications/patents, the Applicant has spent a substantial amount of time and effort in developing printheads that incorporate micro electromechanical system (MEMS)-based components to achieve the ejection of ink necessary for printing.
As a result of the Applicant's research and development, the Applicant has been able to develop printheads having one or more printhead chips that together incorporate up to 84 000 nozzle arrangements. The Applicant has also developed suitable processor technology that is capable of controlling operation of such printheads. In particular, the processor technology and the printheads are capable of cooperating to generate resolutions of 1600 dpi and higher in some cases. Examples of suitable processor technology are provided in the above referenced patent applications/patents.
The Applicant has overcome substantial difficulties in achieving the necessary ink flow and ink drop separation within the ink jet printheads.
It is generally beneficial to increase the nozzle densities on a printhead to enhance the print resolution. MEMS fabrication of the nozzles on silicon wafer allows very high nozzle density. However, the wafer is typically about 200 microns thick with the nozzle guards, ink chambers, ejection actuators and so on occupying a layer about 20 microns thick on one side. Ink supply passages must be formed through the wafer to the nozzles.
It is not practical to form the ink supply passages from the nozzle side of the wafer through to the supply side. The fabrication of other nozzle structures would require the entire supply passage to be filled with resist while the other structures were lithographically form on top. The resist subsequently needs to be stripped out of the passage. To strip a 200-micron deep passage of resist would be difficult and time consuming.
Forming the ink supply passages from the supply side of the wafer through to the nozzle side presents its own difficulties. Firstly, the precise alignment of the masking on the supply side with the ink chambers of each nozzle on the other side is difficult. At present, the best equipment available for aligning the mask have ±2 microns accuracy. Secondly, a deep etch will often deviate from a straight path because the ions in the etchant are influenced by any charged particles in the wafer. Thirdly, the plasma etchant will often track sideways along an interface between silicon wafer and dielectric material.
Misalignment of the supply passage can lead to the plasma etch contacting and damaging other components of the nozzle, for example, the drive circuitry for the ejection actuator. Furthermore, the above causes of misalignment can compound into large inaccuracies which imposes limits on the size of the nozzle structure and the spacing between nozzles. This, of course, reduces the density of nozzles and lowers the resolution.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a useful alternative to known printheads and the techniques for fabricating them. In particular the invention aims to provide a method of making printhead chips that accommodate the standard manufacturing tolerances involved while minimizing the spacing between adjacent nozzles.